Earlier this summer, officials from the Bureau of Reclamation came to Arizona and issued a warning: If we don’t take action, Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the West, is in danger of falling below critical levels in just a few years.
Thursday morning, in a highly anticipated meeting, the board of the Central Arizona Project is meeting to propose a plan of action. Officials at CAP and elsewhere in Arizona are in the midst of negotiations over how the state will implement the Drought Contingency Plan, which aims to keep Lake Mead from dropping to dangerously low levels in the next decade.
It’s been an increasingly intense conversation in our state as water managers here and across the Southwest face the reality that we’re using more water from the Colorado River than it can supply.
So, how did we get here? The battle over Colorado River water has gone on for decades, and we are at a critical point in its future right now. So, for a little context, The Show was joined by two reporters who have spent a lot of time covering the Colorado River: KJZZ's Bret Jaspers and KUNC's Luke Runyon from Colorado.
